


Fortes Fortuna Iuvat

by xfrancesca



Category: Spartacus: Vengeance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Apocalypse, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-09
Updated: 2012-05-13
Packaged: 2017-11-05 01:00:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/400712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfrancesca/pseuds/xfrancesca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After The Outbreak, people had to learn to adapt and survive in a world dominated by zombies. Agron and Nasir had managed fairly well until they were separated from each other one day. What will become of them, and how will they find their way back to one another?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Water

 Agron and Nasir had survived together for five months after The Outbreak. They were together for two years before that, but it's difficult to remember a time before the Z Virus. They were walking along a river one day (they both decided it was a safe path to travel because the sound of the current drowned out any sounds that either of them would make, and walkers tended to stay away from the area) when they were separated.

They walked at a comfortable place, weapons in hand in case anything came in their way. Both men had adapted to this lifestyle; constantly on the move, constantly ready in case something came their way. It was a big jump from the comfortable life they led in suburbia beforehand, and yet it wasn't that difficult to find their inner warriors and survivalists.

Agron and Nasir were clad in clothes that they had taken from a partially-emptied clothing store they had passed a few days ago, and although it wasn't the best fitting clothing, at least it was clean. Before The Outbreak, Nasir used to wear his long black hair down or in a ponytail, but it soon became apparent that he wouldn't be able to wash or comb it nearly as much as he would need to in order to keep that up. With some help from Agron a few months ago, he braided his raven hair tight to his skull and had kept it that way ever since.

There was a chill in the air. Nasir had tried keeping up with what day of what month it was, but the days and hours soon meshed together and time was purely subjective from then on. Judging by the climate of the past few weeks, it was possibly Autumn, which used to be his favorite time of year. Not anymore.

Agron doesn't remember what happened next. One minute, he had stopped and was looking down at the river below them because he saw  _something_ and Nasir was telling him  _babe, don't do that_ in that accented voice of his, and the next second he was pulled into the water somehow and the icy grip of the strong current held him as if in a vice, and dragged him further and further from Nasir. Agron's chest constricted and it was difficult to breathe, he tried kicking his legs and moving his arms but it was of no use, the water was moving too quickly for him to be able to swim against it.

Nasir ran beside the river, jumping over tree stumps and brushes, able to keep his eyes on Agron and narrowly avoid any obstacles at the same time despite the heavy weapons he wore. The look on his face, though, that was something Agron could never forget, because that was pure  _terror_ . 

Then the water rose and suddenly Agron's mouth was filled with it and he wanted to tell Nasir he loved him  _one last time_ because he didn't want to see him so upset anymore. The current made a sharp turn and his head bumped against a rock that rose from the bottom of the river, and everything went black.

  
  


He woke up with a start, but instead of being at the bottom of the river or somewhere on a riverbed, he was in an  _actual_ bed. He sat up and looked around and saw that he was in a small cabin of sorts. A woman with dark hair and pale skin walked into the room, and she smiled at him, although Agron couldn't manage to do the same. She carried a bowl of water and a cloth, and urged him to lay down. He did.

"We almost thought you wouldn't make it," she said as she wiped Agron's hot, sweaty forehead with the cloth. Her voice was comforting and her hand was gentle. He took a deep breath and let the cool water calm him, although when he did, the memory of what happened came back to him. The river, falling, the cold water and the current, and  _Nasir_ . He sat up again and the woman looked at him with an inquisitive gaze, as if she was trying to decipher what was going on in his mind.

"Where--" he started, but he was interrupted by a man walking into the room. He was slight of build with short cropped hair and an intense gaze that seemed to soften when he saw Agron.

"Glad to see you're awake," he said. He stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed in front of his chest, and Agron couldn't remember the last time he'd been surrounded by so many people. His head began to throb and fought the urge to lay down and bury himself in the soft covers and go to sleep for a month or so.

"Is Nasir here?" He asked hopefully. Perhaps Nasir had found these people and they saved him. Perhaps he was in the other room, safe and content and Agron could walk out and see him, and Nasir would wrap his arms around him and offer Agron the comfort he so desperately needed. He looked at the man standing at the foot of his bed expectantly, but the man's eyebrows were furrowed.

"I'm sorry, who is that?" He said.

Agron wanted to scream. Instead, he swallowed back the rising bile in his throat and laid down again. The woman's eyes were concerned as she placed a tentative hand on his arm. Agron didn't want to say any more.

  
  


  
  


Five months ago was when it began. Well, it was probably much earlier than that, because the virus had started in communities and towns at a small scale, but five months ago was when the virus began spreading like wildfire. Five months ago was when people all around the world and even the governments began panicking. Five months ago is when the life as they knew it came to a screeching halt.

Agron and Nasir had sat in their house in West Virginia and watched the news until any and all information stopped coming. Soon, the news was replaced with a blue screen and white letters that read  _PLEASE STAND BY,_ and not too long after that the electricity went out completely.

Before The Outbreak happened, when everything was still normal, Agron's younger brother Duro had gone to Arizona. He went on a trip to see his ex wife and his son and stay with them for a month or two, just to spend some time with Matthias since his ex refused to let the eight year old ride on a plane all the way to Philadelphia on his own.

Therefore, Duro was still there when The Outbreak occurred. He was the first person Agron had called, and even when there was no answer, he kept trying over and over again. When cell phone service went out completely, Nasir was the one that assured him that they would go and look for Duro and his family, and wouldn't stop until they did.

They spent only a few more days at home to "enjoy it while we can," as Agron had said. They decided to leave when Nasir looked out from their attic window with binoculars one morning and saw a group of a hundred or so walkers in what seemed to be a beeline for their block. All of the doors to their house were locked and bolted and the shades were drawn in every room and in the darkness, surrounded by fear and uncertainty, they made love.

They made love like it was the last time they would ever, because that was a great possibility. They forgot about the horrors going on around them; the dying and the reanimated, the carnage and the loss, and focused on each other. They comforted each other in the most carnal ways they knew how, because words seemed to offer little support.

Later that day they packed what they needed; changes of clothes, bottles of water, food, and weapons. It was the one time in which Agron's gun collection and Nasir's penchant for daggers and knives came in handy. They had taken their car at first, using a map, a compass, and a pencil to help mark their route since GPS was no longer functioning. They drove opposite the horde of zombies that had been coming towards them, and headed towards more local roads they could take.

Neither one of them had killed a person in their life, and other than the occasional hunting that Agron indulged in, had never killed a living thing at all. They had avoided walkers for the first two days of their journey, driving around them instead of barrelling down on them. Back then, they still had their humanity.

"They're all still people," Nasir said. They were driving that first night along a side street, and there were walkers outside of houses, wandering aimlessly or grotesquely feeding on a recently-passed person. It made both Nasir and Agron's appetites disappear.

Agron looked over at his husband. "Huh?" Agron didn't see  _people_ , how could he? He saw monsters; ruthless and cannibalistic. They had been people at a time, but they were people who died horribly, violently, and then came back to life just to bring others to the same fate as them. Evil, vengeful creatures.

"They were someone's sister, someone's brother, an uncle, a father, a mother..." Nasir's eyes were glued to his window.

"Hey," Agron said softly. He stopped the car; killing the engine and turning the headlights off. Nasir turned to him.

"What?" He asked. His eyes looked strangely far-away. Agron feared that this was starting to take a toll on him, so his pressed his lips to Nasir's to offer some comfort. Little did they know how this was only the beginning.

Their first kill was a few days after they started their journey. They were driving down the street when their car suddenly stopped. Agron tried starting the engine again, but it would only cough and sputter.

Nasir sighed. "I'll fix it," he opened the passenger side door and was about to step out when Agron grabbed his bicep to stop him.

"Don't," he said quickly, but Nasir only pulled away and got out, walking to the front of the car. Agron got his handgun from the glove compartment and stepped out as well, standing by as Nasir stood over the opened hood of the car. Agron's heart was beating rapidly, but he soon calmed when he saw there were no undead headed their way. He helped Nasir by grabbing some tools from the trunk and they worked together in order to get their car running again, because the last thing they wanted to do was walk along the dead streets.

Nasir was bent over, using a flashlight to check the oil tank, when Agron heard it. It was a loud moan, accompanied by the sound of feet awkwardly slapping against the pavement. He looked up and his voice caught in his throat at the sight of a zombie. It was the first time he had seen one up close. The human it used to be must have been very fit, because the creature now, although torn up and covered in blood, was  _running_ towards them. Agron felt like he was in a nightmare; something horrible was happening and he couldn't speak, couldn't scream.

It was only when Nasir looked up at noticed the creature as well that Agron quickly drew his gun and shot it in the chest twice. The creature stumbled, it's dead, gray eyes looking at Agron with a complete blankness that he'd never witnessed before. It moaned and continued walking again, as if nothing happened, and that's when Nasir yelled  _aim for the head!_ and Agron did, and the thing fell to the floor swiftly, making a wet sound against the ground.

That was also the night they created their Rules. The first was  _never use guns_ , and the second was  _never yell_ . It was only because the sound of the three gunshots along with Nasir's yell had attracted a handful of walkers from the immediate area, and about fifteen or so began their limping run towards the two men. Agron shot another two down before Nasir pulled out the tactical hunting knife that he had in his jacket pocket,  unsheathed it, and ran towards them.

Agron didn't have time to yell after him, because soon there was a walker right beside him, its ugly, bloody mouth gaping and its mangled hands clawing at his jacket. Agron jumped back and shot it between the eyes, then killed the one behind it. Nasir felt like a different person as he thrust his knife into the skull of what used to be a person. The knife went through fairly easily, and when he pulled it out the creature fell to the ground, its dead eyes staring off somewhere into the distance.

In relatively little time, there were no more walkers around them. Nasir turned to Agron and saw his husband standing with his back to him. Nasir walked over to him with shaking hands and a heart that was about to pound out of his chest. He was about to ask what was wrong when he saw the cause of Agron's distraction; the image to be burned into his skull forever after that day.

It was a little girl, no more than six or seven, who had turned into a walker some time ago judging by the decomposition. Both of her legs were mangled, as if she were ran over by a car. She was on her stomach, her pale, scraggly arms dragging herself down the road towards Agron and Nasir. Her clothes were tattered and her brown hair was tangled, her face covered in dirt and blood. The worst part were her eyes. Her glazed, white eyes, that stared at them in such a way that not only burned a hole through them, but made them feel as if they didn't exist. She stared right through them, groaning as she smelled the blood in their veins.  _Food_ .

Agron pointed his gun at the creature that struggled and clawed at the gravel, only to drag itself an inch or two. It was still over twenty feet away. He aimed. The creature let out a horrible shriek, and although it was just from sensing flesh and blood nearby, it almost seemed as if it knew what was going to happen.

"No, leave it," Nasir said, placing a hand on Agron's arm. Nasir's throat felt tight and he wanted them to just get into their car and continue on their journey. Ignore the girl. Agron shook his head.

"It's suffering," he said softly. Sadly. He held the gun steady, pointed at the girl's head.

He pulled the trigger.


	2. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir meets a very interesting yet dangerous person. Agron argues with someone in the group.

 Nasir ran along the riverside until his chest burned and his legs cramped, but he kept going. He had lost sight of Agron some time ago, and he hoped desperately that Agron was alive and had managed to get out of the river, despite the fact that the logical part of his mind told him that would be a difficult feat. Tears streamed down his face and he wiped them away with his sleeve, but it didn't wipe away the fear and uncertainty he felt.

Since the beginning of the end, one of the major rules that he and Agron had learned to abide by was  _be completely silent_ . They promised each other that no matter what happened, they wouldn't scream or shout, because that would just attract the walkers. So even though Nasir wanted to shout and scream, to yell until Agron heard him and called back, he ran, and the only sounds were his breathing and the crunch of leaves underfoot.

He stopped and looked around, only to see the same river to his left and the trees to his right. Everything looked the same. Nasir dropped down to the ground, sitting in an area surrounded by tall grass. He tried to catch his breath and the back of his throat tasted like blood and he felt utterly and completely lost. Various scenarios flashed through his mind; many of which involved Agron being gone forever, and Nasir felt intense physical pain, like a knife through his heart, at the thought of it.

There was a rustle in the distance. Nasir's ears perked and he crouched in the grass, peaking his head out just enough to see above the blades. Another rustle somewhere to his right, and Nasir quickly withdrew one of the various weapons strapped to his body; a dagger that was fastened onto a holster on his thigh. He gripped the weapon tightly and stayed as motionless and attentive as a cat stalking its prey.

There was a flash of a body moving, and in an instant Nasir's instincts took over and he jumped out from his hiding place, ready to slit that fucking walker in half. Instead, he was pushed back against a tree with a forearm against his throat. He struggled and his eyes teared up from the pressure against his adam's apple, but the arm was soon taken away. Nasir bent over and coughed a few times, his throat sore and burning. When he looked back up, he took in the sight of a man with mischievous eyes and long dirty-blond hair, wearing a crisp blue shirt and jeans with a duffle bag strap across his chest.

"You alright there, little man?"

Nasir stood up and nodded. He remembered exactly the last time someone had called him that.

The man's name was Gannicus, and as far as Nasir could tell, he had no problem with the fact that most of the Earth's population were now a flesh-eating horde. The man invited Nasir to come with him, that he had set up camp about half a day's walk away, and if anything he could offer him some food and a place to sleep. Nasir had almost taken a second too long to answer and the man shrugged and began walking away, but he caught up with him.

"Why are you so far away from your camp?" Nasir felt odd. This was the first person besides Agron that he had spoken to him since The Outbreak. His heart still ached for Agron, and he had a feeling he was still alive, but he hadn't eaten in two days and traveling along a dirt path with no directions (Agron had the map in his backpack when he had fell into the river) wouldn't help the situation.

Gannicus turned to him and smiled, and suddenly stopped walking. Nasir stopped as well, but he was still on high alert in case of walkers. The man rummaged through his duffle bag until he pulled something out that made Nasir's eyes widen.

"You walked half a day for  _whiskey_ ?" He asked incredulously. 

"Hey no," Gannicus said, "I also got some vodka and rum and some motherfucking candy," he flashed Nasir a lopsided smile, "I haven't had any gummy bears in  _forever_ ."

Nasir off-handedly wondered what he had gotten himself into.

 

 

"No," the asshole named Crixus said. Agron didn't know that there were more than two people that he was with in the cabin when he woke up. Once he got out of bed and walked to the living room, he saw that there was another man and woman there. The two people he had met when he first woke up were Mira and Spartacus.

The other woman was Naevia, and she greeted him with a smile and made small talk, but her man was a big, hulking creature, with cold eyes that simply glared at him. He had glowered at Agron instead of introducing himself like the others had. Later on that day, after they had a meal of canned food heated over the fireplace and bottled water, Agron brought up Nasir.

"I need to find him," Agron said. Nasir was the only person that had been on his mind non-stop since he had awakened. "Now," Agron had said, and cleared his throat. "I would appreciate it if you would all help me, but if you can't, I understand. In that case, I would just want to know where we are so I can find my way back to the river and find him."

Spartacus was first to speak. "We will help you."  _That_ was when Crixus disagreed.

"I'm not going out and risking our lives more than we have to," he said. "We already had a plan; we stay here as long as we can, and then we make our way up to Canada. That's a long journey, and I'm not letting  _anyone_ get in the way of that." Crixus gave Agron a disapproving look. The German felt his blood boil.

" _Crixus_ ," his woman warned. The man's eyes reluctantly met Naevia, and she silently admonished him.

"We can help you find your way back to the river and then search around the area until we find him. Another person can only be a good thing," Spartacus said.

"Or a bad one," Crixus muttered. "Another mouth to feed, another person to baby sit. More trouble than we need."

"Well it's not your  _fucking_ problem," Agron spat. "I'm going to find him and be out of your hair for good, you can count on it."

He only hoped he would find Nasir, and quickly.

 

 

Nasir and Gannicus walked down the middle of a street of a small town. The man had insisted that his place was only a few blocks away, and Nasir was feeling weak from the lack of food, and his mind was still clouded with worried thoughts of Agron, but he kept trudging along.

Then, he heard it. The moans and shuffling of the dead. It wasn't just one walker, either, Nasir could tell. It must have been twenty from the sound of their collective groans. His fears were validated when he saw a large group of them coming from the street up ahead as well as from the sides. These were probably the same walkers that once were human and inhabited this town. Now they all sensed the two men and came to ravage.

" _Shit_ ," Nasir muttered, and he took one of the larger hunting knives he had with him out of its holster; the blade almost a foot long. He held it in front of him, ready to attack, but Gannicus lazily placed a hand on Nasir's chest.

"You don't have to do that, really," he said with a smirk.

"What do you mean, they're coming right at us!" He said, but Gannicus took his time in rummaging through his duffle bag for something. Nasir's heart raced as he witnessed the walkers coming closer and closer, and fought of the urge to charge at them and finish them all the only way he knew how; passionately.

Suddenly, a flash of silver, and one walker halted for a second before falling backwards onto the concrete. Nasir looked over at Gannicus and saw a smile on the other man's face. He looked almost giddy as he took the next weapon, a small, thin throwing knife of sorts, and aimed and threw it with such precision that it pierced through the next walker's eye and it dropped to the ground. He continued his actions at a quick, practiced pace, until there was only one zombie left only a few feet away from them. He gave Nasir a knowing grin.

"Go ahead," he said. With a tenseness in his jaw, Nasir waited for the creature to come disturbingly close before he lunged forward and plunged his blade through the creature's forehead. He pulled his knife out with a wet sound, and the walker fell limp to the ground, its arms spread out on either side like a grotesque angel.

"Were those knives you used?" Nasir asked. He followed Gannicus as the man walked to each individual walker and pulled the weapons out of their skulls, wiping them against the end of his shirt before dropping them back in his bag.

"Bo-shuriken," Gannicus corrected. "Gotta keep shit new and exciting in some way, huh?"

Nasir pulled one of the spikes from the skull of a fallen walker. The walker was probably a business man when he was alive, judging by the tattered, bloodied suit and tie that donned the carcass. Nasir held the weapon in front of his face and inspected it. It was a dart-like, metal object, and he wondered how many walkers it had killed.

"Do you  _really_ enjoy this?" Nasir asked. Gannicus didn't answer, and they continued walking in silence for about half an hour. Nasir remembered how difficult his and Agron's first kills were, and even though he knew that every kill was for survival, he sensed that the man next to him took more pleasure in it than others. And, for a split second, Nasir mentally readied himself in case he was Gannicus' next target.

"Look," Gannicus said with a smile, pointing to a small, ranch-style house up ahead. The windows were boarded and the front yard was littered with the garbage and the unmoving bodies of walkers. "Home sweet home."

Later on, Nasir sat with Gannicus on the floor on the home he used as camp. They had used a side entrance, and then worked quickly to lock it and then push a heavy piece of furniture in front of it. Gannicus had been living there a while, judging by all the arrangements he had made. Locks on all of the doors, followed by pieces of furniture in front of them. The only light came from various candles that Gannicus lit when they entered.

Gannicus walked easily from room to room, humming an old tune that Nasir couldn't name. He started a fire in the fireplace with a match, and when Nasir looked into the fire he saw that it was the wooden legs of chairs that were burning. He walked back into the living room and sat next to Nasir, stretching his legs out in front of him and kicking off his boots. He reached into his bag and pulled out the whiskey, and after twisting the top off impatiently, took a large swig.

He let out a sigh of relief and looked at Nasir with a mischievous smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"You want some?" He extended the bottle towards Nasir, but Nasir shook his head. His stomach was in knots and he hadn't eaten anything in days, so he feared the alcohol would simply knock him out.

"How about food?" Nasir said, and Gannicus' eyes lit up, like  _right, yeah, food!_ and he got up and went to the kitchen, only to come back and throw packets of food at Nasir. Granola, nuts, dried fruit, all still edible. Five months might seem like a lot but in reality it wasn't even long enough for certain foods to expire.

He ate until he was full, and then he drank a bottle of water he had in his own bag and laid down on the carpet. Gannicus' back was against the only piece of furniture in the room; a love seat. He drank about half the bottle before he put it to the side, and then took to entertaining himself by tossing one piece of candy at a time into the air and catching it with his mouth. Nasir was surprised when Gannicus was the first to speak.

"So what the fuck were you doing by yourself by the river?"

Nasir looked down at the carpet.

"You can tell me," Gannicus assured. He sounded sincere.

 

 

 

While apart, Agron and Nasir suddenly remembered. Usually, it was hard to remember life before The Outbreak. That was old. Normal. That world made sense. This new world was scary, filled with the monsters that would haunt your dreams at night and people that were ready to kill you if it meant saving themselves. This new world had no humanity, and only a scant amount of love. Memories can sometimes provide the only sanctuary.

When Agron laid in that same bed that he had woken up in, thoughts of leaving and trying to find Nasir on his mind, he remembered their life.

When Nasir had curled up on the love seat, idly watching Gannicus sharpen his knives, he remembered tidbits; images as if from an old movie or a dream, hazy and momentary.

_"We're married," Agron said incredulously. Nasir laughed and caressed the side of Agron's face._

_"We just had mind-blowing honeymoon sex and that's all you can say?" Nasir's raven hair was splayed on the white pillow. Contrast. Agron felt himself getting emotional, and he tried to hide it by faking a coughing fit, but Nasir caught on to him._

_"Aw, c'mon," Nasir said.He cuddled closer to Agron and pressed their lips together. "Technically, we've been married for two weeks now. It was official at the court house."_

_"I know," Agron said. He cleared his throat and pressed his forehead against his husband's. "It's just..."_

_"Jarring?" Nasir offered. He nodded._

_The fell into silence, the warmth of each other's presence and their previous exertion slowly lulling them to sleep._

_"Hey," Agron said. He looked at Nasir's face; the face of the man he fell in love with. Beautiful eyes, dark skin, a scar on his eyebrow. Agron knew all of Nasir's body. There was a birthmark behind his ear that Agron kissed from time to time, another scar, much larger, on his side from a car accident when he was younger. Agron had memorized every inch of him, and yet he still couldn't get enough._

_Agron ran his finger down the gentle slop of Nasir's nose, then down to his lips, and finally to his chin. He held it between his thumb and forefinger and tilted Nasir's head up. He smiled when Nasir lazily opened his eyes and half-heartedly pushed his hand away._

_"I want to sleep," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at him. Agron pouted because he knew that Nasir would give in at that._

_"What do you think it's gonna be like?" Agron asked after they shared a kiss. He didn't have to explain himself further, Nasir knew that he meant their married life._

_Nasir smirked. "Amazing. Other than the sex, I mean, but that's always been amazing." Agron tried to smile but it faltered._

_"You don't think it's gonna get boring?" He said barely above a whisper. He didn't mean to insult or insinuate anything about their relationship, but after witnessing his younger brother's marriage fall apart, especially after it had been so strong in the beginning, put a small amount of fear in him. He hoped he and Nasir could make it through strong._

_Nasir surprised him by laughing. "No," he said, a smile on his face. Agron raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure our life together is going to be anything_ but _boring."_

Outside, it started to thunder. The sky roared like a beast coming to life, and Nasir looked over at Gannicus, who fell asleep on the floor lying on his stomach, his newly-sharpened knives lined up next to him. 

Nasir felt a familiar pang of loss in his chest. He wished he had been wrong. He would have preferred boring.

Many miles away, Agron clutched a pillow to his chest and tried to calm his breathing. From the beginning of The Outbreak, to all the horrors he and Nasir had seen, and the things they've had to do to survive, he hadn't shed a tear.

That night, he couldn't stop them from falling.


	3. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Nasir try to find their way back to one another and finish what they started.

Agron didn't regret starting on his mission to find his way back to Nasir, even when he opened the door and stepped out for the first time in three days. He was greeted by the image of a large number of walkers, milling about in the backyard and on the streets, standing by trees or staring blankly into space and swaying back and forth in place. Agron's heart raced when one of them sensed his presence and let out a moan before starting towards him. He turned back and locked the door behind him, leaning back against it and looking at the faces of Spartacus, Mira, Naevia, and Crixus.

"Well?" Crixus snapped. "How bad is it?" He had finally agreed with the others that they would go with Agron to help find Nasir, but he was nowhere near happy about it. Crixus had his own ideas about what they should do, and Agron was getting in the way of all of it.

Agron forced a smile. "Not  _too_ bad." Something inside him burned, though, and he could feel his muscles tense and his mind ready for battle. He would kill a  _million_ walkers just to hold Nasir in his arms again, and he was perfectly comfortable with the fact that he might have to do just that.

"Fuckin' liar," Crixus spat, but Spartacus shot him a glare and then spoke.

"Okay," he began, "we're going to have to move quickly. Don't waste time trying to kill all of them," he gave Crixus a pointed look. "We need to just get the ones in our path out of our way. We'll start for the forest, which isn't too far away, and after that it'll just be a matter of following the river downstream until we come upon where you last saw him," Spartacus nodded at Agron.

Mira readied her bow and arrows, and the rest of the group held their weapons in hand, sharing in a brief moment of silence, readying themselves for a great fight for survival. The living against the dead.

Agron held the machete tight in his hand and was distracted from his thoughts by a gentle touch on his arm. He turned and saw that it was Naevia, a beautiful woman with warm, chocolate-colored eyes that reminded him of Nasir. A corner of his lips upturned at her. She smiled back, but it was small and the words she spoke were soft and barely-there.

"We might not find Nasir today," she said. Agron gave her a look harsher than he intended, because that was the thought that had been on his mind ever since he woke up surrounded by these strangers. It was the thought that haunted his dreams, and made his chest constrict with sadness. The possibility that he wouldn't find Nasir was scarier than anything else.

"But," Naevia continued, "if that does happen, we'll keep searching and we won't give up. We'll stick together."

"Thank you," Agron said. He put his weapon down and embraced her, and over her shoulder he caught of glimpse of Crixus whose features softened, if only for a split second. As soon as Agron pulled away Crixus regained his composure and the ever-present scowl on his face returned.

"Who's ready to kick some zombie ass?" Mira asked. A smile was already plastered on her face as the others enthusiastically agreed.

Agron turned to the door and took a deep breath, his hand on the doorknob.

"Just open it, you fucker!" Crixus called out.

Agron did so with a smile.

 

 

"Are you going to help me?" Nasir asked. He stood in the middle of the living room, having just gotten his things in order. He had taken a few days to rest up and nourish himself so he would have enough energy for the endeavor before him. Nasir spared a glance at Gannicus, who had spent the past few days drinking and it seemed that it was finally catching up to him by the glazed look in his eyes.

"Why would I do that?" Gannicus slurred. He was sitting in the love seat, his hair messed up and an impressive amount of stubble on his face. Nasir's jaw tensed.

"Because it would be a lot easier if I had someone that could help me along the way," he said, and a small voice in the back of his head was already telling Nasir to leave this drunk and go find Agron himself. He had found his husband once in life, he can do it again.

"Really?" Gannicus smirked, and there was something in his eyes when he looked up at him that Nasir hadn't seen before.

"Well," Gannicus stood up and after swaying momentarily, walked over to Nasir. He came too close for Nasir's liking and Nasir took a few steps backwards, accidentally backing himself against a wall. He felt his heart race at the position he was in. "What's in it for me if I help you find your beau, huh?" Gannicus asked, and he was undoubtedly  _smirking_ at Nasir, as if this was some sick joke.

It took Nasir a second to realize what was actually happening, but when Gannicus winked, that's when he grabbed his throat with both hands, perhaps much rougher than was warranted, but he didn't ease up in the slightest.

"Fuck off," Nasir spat. He watched the way Gannicus' eyes bulged in fear for a moment as his hands gripped tighter. He watched him struggle with a kind of curiosity, watched his hands clawing at the grip on his neck. He only let go when Gannicus pleaded with his eyes, and Nasir pushed him away roughly. The man gasped and stumbled backwards and then came to sit on the floor. He tried to get his breath back and not gag from the pain in his throat.

"You're fucking crazy," Gannicus muttered, his voice coming out rough. Nasir couldn't help the small smile on his lips. He knew The Outbreak made even the most sane of people lose their sanity as well as their morality, but he was in no way about to be used by some fucking asshole in order to get some help in finding Agron.

"We're all a little crazy."

He walked past Gannicus and grabbed his things off the floor. It seemed as if Gannicus was about to say something but Nasir had already pushed the piece of furniture away from the door and stepped outside. He paused for a second and inhaled, making sure he was calm before he went any further. Being on edge only causes mistakes around walkers.

His fingers hovered over the handle of the knife in a sheath attached to his belt, in case any walkers came, but in the twilight he was met with nothing but silence. His footsteps barely made any noise against the pavement; always quiet.

Nasir had made it a few blocks when he stopped and surveyed the area around him. Exactly which way did Gannicus take him? How can he get back to the river? He sighed and looked for any landmarks that he might have noticed on the journey there. All he needed to do was get back to the river and keep walking. Walk for half a day, since that's how long it took to get here in the first place, and then he would look around for Agron. Deep down he knew that somehow he would find his way back to his husband. Either in this life or the next.

He wasn't necessarily surprised when only a few minutes later he heard someone running towards him, footsteps too calculated and even to belong to a walker. Nasir turned and saw Gannicus and then continued walking along his decided path. Pretty soon the blond was walking beside him, but Nasir's eyes did not once stray from the road in front of him.

"You're going the wrong way," Gannicus finally said. Nasir stopped and his hands clenched into fists. He turned to Gannicus, and saw that the man had a small, unsure smile on his face. Nasir didn't return the gesture.

"Here," Gannicus said, tugging on Nasir's hand, "I'll show you the way."

Nasir sighed and gave in, following him. They walked in silence until they reached the forest, and Nasir could hear the river up ahead. It would still be a few hours before he got back to the initial spot where he met Gannicus. Where he lost Agron.

"What was that back there?" Nasir finally asked. He kicked a small stone in his path and watched it land into the grass up ahead. Gannicus smoothed out his shirt.

They walked for a few minutes more before Gannicus spoke.

"I don't know," he admitted. He pushed some locks of his hair behind his ear and licked his lips. "I'm sorry."

Nasir smiled weakly. "And I'm sorry for choking you," he offered in return. Gannicus' eyes met his own and the blond smiled crookedly, his cockiness practically exuding once again.

"Hey, I'm not one to complain," Gannicus said with a smirk. "If that would have happened under any other circumstances it would've ended with some hot sex."

Nasir felt a blush creep onto his cheeks and he averted his eyes.

"Yeah," he said, "not this time."

"You win some, you lose some," Gannicus said, and he patted Nasir on the back. Nasir felt a pang of sadness within him, and the other man seemed to sense it.

"You'll find him," Gannicus said, and Nasir could only nod and hope that was true.

 

 

The group of five walked through the forest tired, hungry, and covered in the thick, black substance that is zombie blood. Getting past the horde of zombies outside the cabin was more difficult than expected simply because it seemed as if for every one they killed, another two took its place. They had quickly learned to work well together and once they killed all the walkers it was only a short run to get to the forest.

Earlier they had come upon a smaller stream that branched out from the large river that Agron had fallen into, and they used that opportunity to wash their faces with some cold water and get the blood off their hands. Since then they had been following the river dutifully for some odd hours, and except for a few stops to rest their feet and eat a small amount of food they had with them, they had a good pace.

Agron knew they were relatively safe around the sound of the rushing water, as no walkers would be able to hear or sense them as well as they could otherwise. He looked down into the water below him and wondered for the first time what  _exactly_ had pulled him. The scene replayed in his mind over and over again; the rush of water, the way he struggled to swim but couldn't do so against the current, the fear that gripped him, and most frightening; the look on Nasir's face.

The image would remain burned in his mind until the end of time, he knew it. There was nothing scarier than seeing his husband scared and unsure of what to do, running after him. There was nothing either one of them could do, and somehow Agron felt that in that moment, as soon as Nasir looked at him like that, he had broken his promise to him. He didn't keep Nasir as safe as he should have.

Now it would only be a matter of luck if he found his husband, seeing as a few days passed. Was Nasir out here by himself for those days? Was he tired, hungry, having to fend off any walker that passed by? Nasir was one of the strongest men that Agron had ever met, his resolve and pure fearlessness when confronted with a difficult situation knew no bounds, but Agron still feared for him.

Then, it happened. Agron caught a glimpse of two people up ahead. Humans, not walkers. He could barely make out who they were, their distance too far to see any facial features.

Agron wordlessly began to run. Spartacus called out after him but he didn't listen, he just kept running, kept going, his heart beating faster and his breathing quickening. Leaves crunched underfoot as he ran across them, and he noticed that one of people were running towards him as well, and that's when he  _knew_ .

He met Nasir halfway, and when he embraced him it was as if he was reunited with a part of himself that had been missing.

"My God," Agron kept whispering, and that was all he could say. His arms were wrapped tightly around Nasir and he promised himself he would never, ever let them separate again.

"Fuck, Agron," Nasir laughed, "ease up a little." Agron pulled away and he saw the amazing, luminescent smile on Nasir's face, and the tears that were threatening to fall. He cupped either side of Nasir's face and brushed his thumb against his cheek.

"Never again," Agron said, his voice uneasy. His throat felt tight and his eyes stung. "I'll never leave you again."

Nasir nodded. "I know, I know," he said breathlessly. They kissed. Nasir's fingers threaded through Agron's short hair as they tasted each other again, and it was like coming back home. They felt complete, all the fear in their hearts had dissipated.

Agron pressed a few soft, lingering kisses to Nasir's lips before he pulled away, but he still held the man to him, Agron's chin resting on top of Nasir's head.

They didn't even realize anyone was beside them until Mira cleared her throat. Agron turned and saw the group trying not to stare, except Mira who was staring unashamedly, along with a man that Agron hadn't seen before, a blond with a smirk on his lips.

"So this is your mighty husband that you've missed so much," Gannicus said. Nasir nodded but still didn't pull away. He just wanted to be in Agron's arms a few more moments. He wanted to savour this. Agron tilted Nasir's face upwards and placed a kiss to his forehead.

"I guess our job here is done?" Spartacus asked.

"Actually," Agron said. "Nasir and I were on our way to find my brother." They pulled away from one another but Agron's arm stayed wrapped around Nasir's shoulders. "So if you would care to join us..."

The group looked at each other questioningly. Either way, with or without their help, Agron and Nasir would find Duro and his family, and only then would they be able to map out their future plans.

 

 

It only took them a week to find it. Agron had memorized the address. He had chanted it to himself a million times, a mantra waiting for its moment. It was a dream that had come true, except things didn't seem right from the start.

The front door to the house was ajar, and for a second Agron feared that it would be empty. Other than the door, the house was oddly pristine. It was a small two-story, with a decent front yard that used to be lined with tulips. The shutters were a maroon color and the brass knocker reflected a ray of sun that shined directly into Agron's eyes. He walked through the open gate and a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nasir asked. His brown eyes were filled with uncertainty, and suddenly Agron realized how skinny he was, and how tired he looked. Agron wondered if he himself looked the same; if his once-broad shoulders were narrow and if his limbs were lanky as they were when he was a teen. He couldn't remember the last time he looked at his entire body in a mirror.

"Yeah," Agron said, sounding strangely far away. "I need to see what happened. Maybe they're still in there. Or maybe there's something in there that can help us find them."

Nasir looked pained, but he nodded. "I'm comin' with you," he mumbled.

They looked back at the group that was standing around the cars. There were two cars, each had been found on the road and were fixed up to working condition again. They worked as a group to siphon gas from the surrounding cars to fuel the vehicles that they rode in from then on.

To their surprise, Crixus was first to speak. "We'll wait. Keep watch for any walkers."  _Be careful_ . The rest nodded their approval and Gannicus already had a weapon in his hands; a machete. He gave the pair a reassuring smile. Nasir and Agron felt much better about the fact that there were other  _live_ people that were there to back them up if something happened.

When Agron pushed the door open and walked into the hallway of the house, the smell of rotting flesh filled his senses.

"Do you?" He whispered, and Nasir squeezed his hand comfortingly and nodded.

"Let's check."

They walked down the hallway, and immediately noticed the eeriness of it all. There were blood splatters on the wall, all the furniture was tossed on its side or at an angle, yet the house was silent. The living room looked particularly disheveled, and they walked past that and the kitchen to the stairway. Agron looked back at Nasir and the other man nodded, and they began their ascent.

The stairs barely creaked under their weight, and they were soon on the second floor, where the smell was even more putrid. Nasir seemed to not want to go any further, but Agron pulled his hand.

"I have a bad feeling," Nasir whispered. Agron leaned down and kissed him.

"I know," he said, "but we'll be alright."

They walked past the guest bedroom and towards the open door at the end of the hall. Agron caught a glimpse of the wallpaper: dark blue with yellow stars, and he knew that it was Matthias' room. The walk down the hall to the little boy's bedroom seemed like a walk to the electric chair; long and looming. The smell grew more intense. The door was slightly ajar, and Agron stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

"I'll wait out in the hall," Nasir said, and it was the first time he sounded completely unsure about a situation. Agron nodded and he opened the door and stepped in, only to see the worst scene imaginable.

Matthias and his mother laid dead in that room, bullet holes in their heads. Agron remembered when Matthias was born and how he had held his little nephew and felt such an intense surge of pride for his brother. The boy laid in his bed, still in his pajamas and although his body was badly decomposed, Agron could still tell that this was his handsome nephew that was obsessed with space and liked riding on his uncle's back. His pajamas had little rocket ships on them.

His mother's body was on the floor next to his bed, and Agron felt the bile rise in his throat. He could hear Nasir gag from his place in the hallway. He had seen too much. Agron had always liked Stephanie, even after she and Duro divorced.

He tried to imagine what happened in this room. It was only when he moved closer and saw a large bite on Stephanie's neck that he realized she had been a walker before she was shot.

The blue wallpaper with the yellow stars was splattered in the blood of a mother and son. Agron stepped away, the stench of the rotting corpses becoming too unbearable. Where was Duro? His eyes flashed back and forth between Stephanie and her son. They laid no more than a foot away from each other, and Agron had the urge to take their bodies and bury them somewhere in the backyard. Family did not deserve to be left like this, apocalypse or not.

Agron sighed and kneeled to the floor, bowing his head for a moment. Grief filled him, but there was still a small glimmer of hope that his brother had somehow survived and made it out. A part of him realized that Duro was probably the person that put those bullet holes in his own ex-wife's and son's heads, but he pushed that thought aside. He was in no position to judge what happened or what his brother was forced to do.

He thought of Nasir again, and he took comfort in the knowledge that he was there to help share in the grief.

"Nasir," Agron said as he got up, "if they're here, then maybe Duro's--"

 

 

He never finished that sentence.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I had so much fun writing this, I hope you guys enjoyed it as well.


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